Deep Ocean Expeditions

Day 1 - (11th July)
A day in transit as we traveled from the U.S. to the Azores via various connections with most of us going through London and Lisbon. Arrival at Punta Delgado, San Miguel Island was late afternoon. We were met by the local tour agent, Anna, who took us to the newly built Hotel do Colegio. Along the way and at the hotel we had the opportunity to meet some of our fellow adventurers. Later, we joined Captain Fred McLaren, our host for the next two days, for our first taste of the Azores food and wines.

Day 2 - (12th July)
After a short night's rest it was out to the airport for the early morning flight to Pico Island. The 40-minute flight went by quickly and it did not take long to clear the tiny airport at Pico. A brief bus drive took us to the Hotel Caravelas in the coastal town of Madalena. After checking in we were on our own. As the brochure said, "you have the remainder of the day at your leisure". Most of us checked out the waterfront and local shops followed by lunch at a local seafood restaurant. In the evening we had a welcoming dinner and expedition briefing at the hotel hosted by Fred. It was a good party with lots of wine consumed.

Day 3 - (13th July)
This was a day of sightseeing on the adjacent island, Faial. A 30 minute ferry ride took us from Madalena to Horta where we were met by our tour bus and guide. After an interesting morning nature tour of the major sights, including the site of the last volcanic eruption (1957), we then enjoyed a fabulous BBQ lunch at the old port city of Horta. Following a post-lunch walk, and efforts by Fred, Bob Williams and Joe Ng to retrieve a moray eel, we returned to Horta for shopping before taking the ferry back to Madalena. Returning to our hotel, we found that another of our lecturers Dr. John McCosker a well-known marine biologist, had joined our group. John was to have joined us for both land-tour days but the 'travel demons' had misrouted him and he got to the Azores a day late.

Another fabulous seafood restaurant was discovered tonight. Those of us who remained to linger over desert and wine had the opportunity to meet the famed movie producer and director James Cameron and members of his team. They had just disembarked from Keldysh after a month of filming seafloor hydrothermal vents from the Mir submersibles.

Day 4 - (14th July)
Most of today was free for independent touring on Pico. Since this was a Sunday few shops were open but we were treated to quite a colorful church parade through town. Then at 3:30 a bus moved us from Madalena to the port of São Roque where our ship Keldysh was docked. The real expedition was about to begin!

As we boarded we were met by our cheerful, efficient and unflappable Expedition Leader, Belinda Sawyer. Our friendly Russian crew made us feel very welcome as we became acquainted with our new home. Our baggage was promptly delivered to our cabins and we began unpacking.

Built in Finland in 1981, the 6,300 ton Keldysh, while not a luxury cruise ship, is spacious and very comfortable. Because it was built for long-duration scientific missions, the cabins have lots of storage room. We also found out that the air conditioning system worked too well... Fortunately all cabins had windows which could that be opened to admit fresh, warmer air into those spaces.

Afternoon tea was served from 3 to 4 PM, a delightful weight-adding 'tradition' that would become a daily event. And about 4 Keldysh left the dock for sea. The weather could not have been better. A slight rolling swell with almost no wind together with a clear sky made our departure from Pico very relaxing indeed.

We quickly found the tiny bar in the corner of the lecture room. After a pre-dinner drink we descended three decks to the dining room. For most of us, our daily exercise would be to proceed up and down these stairs at least three times a day in order to get fed. This experience would lead some of us to believe that Keldysh was the Russian word for "stairmaster". Dinner was our first meal on board as we experienced the special talents of Chef Phil Algar and his assistant Jutta Mueller. Clearly, we were going to be well-fed.

As the day progressed we became even better acquainted with our shipmates. There were five of us from Explorers Travelers and seven from Space Adventures. Mike McDowell, President of Deep Ocean Expeditions, brought along his wife, Regula, and their two children Timothy and Kimberly. Head of Expedition Dr. Anatoly Sagalevitch and his wife Dr. Natalia Sagalevitch brought their grandson, Sacha. And passenger Kelly Miller had her daughter Brennan along. For those of us who were grandparents, there was a supply of kids nearby...

Among the Space Adventures travelers we had Dr. Owen Garriott, Adjunct Professor in the Laboratory of Structural Biology, University of Alabama in Huntsville and a former astronaut, who brought two scientific colleagues with him, Professor Joe Ng and Damien Marsic, both of the University of Alabama, Huntsville. They would be studying microbial life forms in the bottom sediments and will work with two associates from the LSB also on the voyage to analyse them for microscopic life forms.

In addition, there was a BBC film crew on board led by Alistair Fothergill, producer of the critically acclaimed "Blue Planet" series that aired in early 2002. The series has been nominated for three "Emmy" awards. On this expedition they would be shooting footage at the Rainbow Vents for his new program "Abyss - Live". In the US it will be aired on the Nature Channel in early October, 2002.

There was also another, two-person, film crew from Austin, Texas : Marcy Garriott and Gail Kapsambalis. They would be doing a self-funded documentary on the expedition. They hope it will be selected for distribution to public television stations.

From now on, a small group of dedicated 'observers' would try to be topside at sunset. With forecasts of excellent weather for our expedition, we endeavored to sight the famous "Green Flash" each day just as the sun went below the horizon. If we were lucky we would not only see it but also take a photo of this phenomenon. Since sunset was well after dinner we could literally 'have our cake and eat it too'... And this first night we were rewarded with a first-ever sighting for many of us.

Day 5 - (15th July)
This was a sea day enroute to the Rainbow Vents. Our informational lecture program began with Don Walsh's "Introduction to the Atlantic Ocean : The Sea Around Us". Later in the morning Fred McLaren told us about his personal Mir dive experiences in his "Return to the Titanic 1999" lecture.

In the afternoon we got briefed on the diving procedures and shipboard safety. Keldysh's Chief Mate Andrey instructed us on safety and emergency procedures on board ship. At 3 PM we put Andrey's teaching to use as we had a lifeboat drill near the boats on Deck 7. Almost all of us were able to 'suit up' in our lifejackets correctly the first time.

After the excitement of lifeboat drill, Anatoly Sagalevitch gave us a lecture on the history of submersible operations including an introduction to the two Mirs. "Tolya" is one of the world's most experienced submersible pilots. It was fascinating to listen to his personal 'tour through the depths' and history of the development of deep submergence exploration.

An official welcome aboard cocktail reception began in the lounge at 6 PM. Tolya and Natalia Sagalevitch welcomed us to "our second home" aboard Keldysh. Mike McDowell then thanked us for joining Deep Ocean Expeditions for this exciting adventure expedition. Then back down those stairs for dinner...

Day 6 - (16th July)
We arrived in the dive area in the early AM and began planting four transponders around the diving area. It seemed easy, but it takes time to accurately place the four acoustic beacons. Once on the seafloor, and surveyed in by the Keldysh, they will make it easy for the Mirs to navigate within and around the Rainbow Vents. They will also permit the ship to 'see' the subs and keep track of their location on the seafloor relative to the transponders and each other.

The first program of the day, "Sex in the Sea: As Cousteau Never Told You", was presented by our resident fish biologist, John McCosker. It was an impressive array of techniques for propagating the species! Clearly, we were going to learn a lot from 'Professor' McCosker.

After John's lecture, Tolya introduced us to some of the on board Russian team of oceanographers. It was amazing that with all our group of participants and the BBC team, there was room on board for 13 scientists from the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology.

Our divers for the first three operating days were given a personal orientation briefing this morning on the Mirs After a brief discussion, each diver was assisted down into one of the submersibles for orientation by their pilots. Some of us found that you had to be almost 'double-jointed' to get down the ladder into the Mirs. But once inside we found them to be remarkably roomy.

In the afternoon, Fred gave us a most important lecture, "Preparing for your Dive in a Mir Submersible". In this talk he provided practical tips, many based on his dives, to help us better prepare for our forthcoming adventure. Such things as pre-dive diet, how to set up your camera, etc. were discussed in detail. By dinnertime today most of us felt pretty well informed about the Mirs and their diving operations.

After dinner we had a special treat. Alistair Fothergill presented his "The Making of Blue Planet". This series has been nominated for several Emmy Awards. It was very special to have the actual director tell us about his work. The video clips shown were absolutely spectacular.

Another important event today was the 'grand opening' of the "Deep Ocean Expeditions Shop". Just to prove you can never get too far away from a shopping opportunity, even the Keldysh has its own shopping center. In this case we were offered 'signature items' such as shirts, hats and patches with the DOE logo. Some of the shirts had a map on the back showing the Azores and our dive site. Just what you need for 'around-the-house' wear!

Day 7 (17th July)
At last our first dive day! Three of our 'fellow travelers': Bob and Jill Williams, and Tim Fleehart were joined by BBC cameraman Mike De Gruy in Mir 1 and 2 respectively for the nine hour dive to the Rainbow Vents. For Bob and Jill this was not a terribly long dive. Last year they made a 12 hour dive in a Mir while visiting the wreck of Titanic. Meanwhile Tim was a very cool 'first-timer'.

A later-than-planned launch meant that that all divers would be returning to Keldysh after dinner tonight. Since it would still be daylight, with such adventure afoot, who cared about food?

The launch event itself was a high point of the day. Once the subs were ready for boarding, photographs were taken of each pilot and his two companions in front of their subs. Mike McDowell was on hand along with Belinda and Dr. Thomas Bachmann to wish everyone a great dive. With a final wave each diver and the pilots descended into the steel spherical pressure hulls of the Mirs.

Next we watched the carefully choreographed Keldysh and Mir teams hoist the 18 ½ -ton submersibles over the side with apparent ease. Clearly this was a group that had worked together for many years and for many launch and recovery operations.

Awaiting them was the Koresh ("companion"), a small boat that would tow each Mir well clear of Keldysh. Also in the water was a small inflatable boat with three men that had been launched earlier. They would help handle the lines and lifting connections between the ship, Koresh and the subs. The guys in that boat were called "the cowboys".

Once a sub was in the water and under tow by Koresh, one of the "cowboys" would leap aboard from the inflatable boat. Carefully balancing on the back of the barely awash submersible he would disconnect the lifting line from the Keldysh. Riding on top of the sub like a rodeo rider, he would remain there until it was time to disconnect the towline to Koresh. Once this was done, the Mir was free to dive. Complete submergence would normally take from five to seven minutes.

The submersibles were launched from 30-60 minutes apart so this whole sequence was repeated when Mir 2 was put into the water. Once it disappeared we put our cameras away and headed for the lecture hall.

Today's 'education program' began with "The Global Mid-Ocean Ridge System" by Don Walsh. He told us how the Rainbow Vents were both a part of and typical of the global 40,000 mile long mid-ocean ridge system. Most of us were impressed by the fact that soon we would be among a handful of people that have ever visited this greatest mountain range on earth.

Immediately after lunch John McCosker gave us an excellent slide lecture on, "Fish Life in the Deep Sea ". Even after a large lunch, John's dry wit, on a wet subject, kept us awake and informed.

The two subs returned to the surface around dinnertime. Mike De Gruy was excited about the photo possibilities in the Rainbow Vents field. He and Tim got quite a thrill when they spotted a 'dumbo octopus' cruising at the vent site. Bob and Jill were their usual happy selves having now made their second diving excursion on a Mir. The natural history context of the hydrothermal vents was certainly an interesting contrast to their previous experience in visiting Titanic, a piece of man's history.

Arrival of both subs on deck, witnessed by most of us, was celebrated with champagne and more photographs as the divers emerged from the Mirs. The same crew that saw them off: McDowell, Sawyer and Bachmann was here to welcome them back.

The day's lecture program ended at 9 PM with a video from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Discovery Channel, "Deep Sea Secrets". Understandably, our divers were too tired to join us for the 'late movie'.

Day 8 (18 July)
Day two of diving and the adventure continues. Today was supposed to be an all-BBC event, however there were some technical problems with the "pan and tilt" device that aimed the external camera on Mir1. This would not interfere with a normal dive so it was decided to remove this device for repairs and send down some of our expedition participants in place of the BBC people. So, on short notice, Owen and Marcy Garriott were told to prepare for a dive in Mir 1 with Tolya. It did not take them very long at all to change into their special Mir diving suits and appear down on deck ready for boarding their submersible. Meanwhile previously scheduled divers Jean Neisheim and Ann Thayer would be diving in Mir 2 with pilot Victor. Of the four divers today only Marcy was a 'first-timer'. Jean was a veteran of a Titanic dive while Owen and Ann had been on the last Rainbow Vents Expedition ('99).

Launch time was a bit delayed due to a technical problem and the need to change dive crews. Once underway launch procedures proceeded smoothly, assisted by the gentle sea conditions this morning.

On this dive Dr. Garriott would take his first bottom sediment samples for a research project on microbial life in the vicinity of the active vent stacks. Hopefully he could 'spoon up' enough samples for Owen and colleagues Professor Joe Ng and graduate student Damien Marsic to begin analysis of micro-life in this location.

The two Mirs surfaced before dark and their crews were quite happy with their experiences in and around the Rainbow Vents. Owen and Ann noted that the vents seemed more extensive and active than during their 1999 dives here. Also, Owen was quite pleased with his first sediment sample. After the 'traditional' post-dive photos and champagne toasts the divers headed for a late dinner.

Meanwhile during the day the lecture program continued... John returned to the podium in the morning with his, "Bioluminescence" lecture. It was an interesting description of the various ways in which animals in the sea use light or the absence of it to mate, hide or feed. Then after another big lunch, Fred McLaren told us about "The First Manned Dives to the Bismarck ". He described the short but fascinating history of this formidable ship as well as his personal experiences while diving on it with Mir 1 in 2001.

After dinner we again had a video presentation, "Submersibles" from the History Channel's "Great Ships" series. The video was informative, showing us several different types of manned submersibles and their operations.

A big celebration tonight... It was Belinda's birthday. Before dinner we assembled in the lounge for gift presentations and drinks kindly hosted by Mike McDowell. After this informal 'reception' we enjoyed another splendid dinner. At the end a birthday cake with burning sparkler was brought in for Belinda. All present sang the traditional "happy birthday" song, if not with much musical skill, then certainly with much sincerity.

Day 9 (19th July)
The camera and lighting pan and tilt device was repaired and there would be more BBC filming at the site. Mir 1 would be the camera platform crewed by Mike De Gruy, Kelly Miller and pilot Genya. Meanwhile, Mir 2 would be the lighting platform that would be moved around on command from the cameraman Mike in Mir 1. Richard Garriott, Brennan Miller and pilot Tolya would be in Mir 2. Brennan was the only first-timer on this dive as her mother, Kelly, and Richard had made Mir dives last year to more than 16,000 feet near the Bahamas. And of course, Mike De Gruy has had years of diving experience with many different manned submersibles. However, only Brennan would set a record on this dive. She would be the deepest diving adolescent in the world. Richard planned to submit this record to the Guinness Book of Records authorities.

Again the launch went very smoothly as we continued to enjoy smooth seas and clear skies. Once the subs had left the surface and our view, we trooped into the lecture hall for the day's program. First up was Don Walsh giving his talk, "To the Far Depths: Exploring the Worlds Oceans" which traced the history and uses of manned submersibles.

After lunch Fred McLaren presented, "The Arctic Submarine Pioneers - Part I". Much of his talk was from his personal experience on board US Navy nuclear submarines during the first major under ice explorations in the Arctic. He also discussed where and how the Mirs might be used in Arctic waters.

Our day's 'education' ended with a video at 5 PM, "New Explorers" a program about undersea volcanoes produced by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. As with all our video programs the imagery was outstanding.

The subs surfaced just about dinnertime and were quickly recovered. Record-setter Brennan was very happy with her first experience 'in the deep'. Our BBC shipmates seemed pleased with their first full day of filming. Tomorrow they would be back 'on set' to add to their inventory of imagery at the Rainbow Vents.

Day 10 (20th July)
Another great day of fine weather at our dive site. At 9:30 it was the first event of the day, a video of a History Channel Program aired in 2001, "The Deepest Dive". It was presented by Don Walsh who gave some comments on how the program was filmed.

The dives today would be an all-BBC event. Mir 1 would be the camera platform with Mike De Gruy and Mike Kasic together with pilot Genya. The second sub, the lighting platform, would be manned by Alistair Fothergill and Simon Nash and piloted by Victor. Script in hand, and using a camera inside the cabin, Alistair would be the 'presenter' doing a narration as the two submersibles moved around the hydrothermal vent site. In the final version for airing on TV, his comments would be synchronized with the camera views so it will appear that he was behind the camera on Mir 1. Around 10:30 AM, after the pre-dive ritual of photographs in front of the subs, the teams climbed into the Mirs and were quickly hoisted over the side.

After lunch the lecture program continued with Fred giving, "The Arctic Submarine Pioneers - Part II". Particularly fascinating was his description of voyages he made under the ice while captain of the submarine Queenfish. His underwater survey of the entire Siberian continental shelf was especially interesting.

The second afternoon lecture was by John McCosker, "How Do Fish Get Their Names?" John's clear style, obvious expertise and humorous delivery made learning this new information easy and fun. As usual, his color slides were spectacular. His easy way of 'teaching' made most of us wish that we had a professor like him while in college.

The subs returned to the surface around dinner time and again the BBC team were pleased with the results of the day-long filming session.

This evening it was a special "Russian Dinner". To start there was the traditional caviar with Mike McDowell pouring rounds of vodka to go with it. After a wonderful dinner Russian crew cook Nikolay and his team together with our chefs Phil and Jutta trooped into the dining room to receive our applause and thanks for a job well done.

Day 11 (21st July)
This was a non-diving day. After four days of trouble-free, 9-10 hour dives it was time to do maintenance on the Mirs and give pilots Tolya, Genya and Victor a rest.

But there was little rest for us as the lecture program continued to introduce us to various aspects of the oceans. Today's program began with Don introducing a TV program, "Extreme Machines - The Submersibles". After lunch he gave a brief lecture on "Adventure Diving: Everyman Under the Sea" which traced the brief history of subs that take tourists into the sea. Later in the afternoon he introduced a videotape, "Lost Ships - A Quest". This short program showed how the Caroline manned submersible as being used by Dr. George Bass for archaeology of ancient shipwrecks in Turkey.

Weather continued to be splendid and we had a rather special sunset tonight. As before, Owen and his 'green flash' crew went to work trying to measure the rate the sun is moving when it sets. Good fun even if we don't completely understand it. And there was a modest green flash tonight.

Day 12 (22nd July)
Today was another all-BBC dive day with Mike De Gruy and Penny Allen in Mir 1 with Genya. Alistair and Simon were in Mir 2 with Victor. This was Penny's first dive in a Mir and only her second time in a deep submersible. Despite the fact that this was the fifth day of dives, we all trooped out to the deck to view the launch operations as we had done each day.

The dive today was a bit different as the BBC team wanted to obtain shots of the submersibles diving together. Usually they dive about an hour apart. In this case Mir 1 waited on the surface while Mir 2 was put in the water. Once the two subs were face-to-face, the dive commenced while two underwater cameramen shot the footage.

The other unusual event during this dive was a birthday tribute to Colette Sandstedt, one of Bill Lange's team from Woods Hole. The crew in each sub did a brief video message using the interior cameras. And both sang "Happy Birthday" on tape as the subs rested on the ocean floor 8,000 feet down. To say the least, Colette has a most unique 'birthday present' from her colleagues on board Keldysh!

This morning our shipmate, Joe Ng, gave us a very interesting lecture on his research work in biology, "The Little Things in Life". At first it seemed it would be over our heads but good teacher that he is, we all ended up getting some new knowledge from him. In the afternoon John McCosker gave us another of us high-energy programs, "El Niño: Wet Dreams or Climatic Nightmares?" After John's lecture we got a special tour of the navigational laboratory to see how they track and communicate with the Mirs during submerged operations. Later in the afternoon we got to see one of the BBC Blue Planet programs, "The Deep". Regrettably we could not have Alistair tell us about how he produced this program but at that moment he was 'in the deep' far below us in Mir 2.

Mir 2 was back aboard first. It was around 7 pm when they got back. Mir 1 was about and hour and a half later. According to the BBC divers the dives went fairly well though there were some minor problems with the camera systems in Mir 1. However, they were able to work around them during the dive.

Day 13 (23rd July)
Our last dive day and the weather was perfect. Finally our first time diver Joan ("Jo-An") Siedenburg got her chance! She joined Russian geologist Academician Victor Starostin (Russian Academy of Sciences) in Mir 1 with Anatoly Sagalevitch as pilot. Starostin from Moscow University was also a first-timer. Tolya would be giving him, along with Joan, a comprehensive tour of the Rainbow Vents.

Mir 2, piloted by Victor, carried Mike DeGruy and John McCosker. This was Mike's fifth dive on this expedition. Lucky fellow... It was John's first Mir dive though he has done many in other submersibles. Also, lucky fellow... On this dive when Mike asked, "what's that fish" he was sure to get an answer!

For those of us less fortunate, the lecture series continued in the morning with two programs. First Damien Marsic talked about "Origin of Life - The Raelian Paradigm". It was both unorthodox and thought-provoking. Next, Don Walsh gave a program on resources of the sea, "Wealth of the World Ocean: Man's Last Storehouse".

In the afternoon we were treated to a great video program, "Incredible Suckers". Produced by Mike De Gruy it featured some eye-popping shots of octopus, squids and the fabled chambered nautilus.

Once the dive operations were completed and the Mirs headed back for the surface, the Keldysh sent the signals to the four transponders to come up. Dropping their heavy weights they rose to the surface to be picked up by the ship assisted by the zodiac rubber boat. Once they were on board, our ship turned and headed towards the Azores.

Dive operations were over for this expedition. We had six double dive days with 24 people getting down to the Rainbow Vents. There were no major mechanical or operational delays and the 'weather gods' smiled on us to give the best possible weather.

Tonight we had our "Farewell Rainbow Vent Dinner". Because the subs went down earlier today, our shipmates were able to be back on board in time for the festivities. They reported another great dive experience and the BBC team in Mir 2 were very pleased with the footage on their last dive.

Where has the time gone? Seems like yesterday that we steamed out of São Roque, Pico for the dive site. Now there is just a day and a half until we return to port.

If you were out on deck about 9 PM you got to see a really good green flash. Lots of cameras were aimed in that direction but it is not clear how many actually got an image of it. We will continue to try tomorrow night.

Day 14 (24th July)
Underway and headed for São Miguel Island at Keldysh's best speed, about 12.5 knots. Our estimated time of arrival will be a 7 AM tomorrow morning. Today was the time to start packing, settle shipboard accounts and sort of 'decompress' for the great adventure we have all enjoyed.

This morning we had a special treat as Alistair Fothergill and Simon Nash of BBC hosted the expedition participants in their laboratory. There we had a preview of some of the footage they had made during their seven dives to the Rainbow Vents. The images were spectacular! Even though it was rough and unedited, we could easily appreciate the brilliant color and sharpness of the high-definition, digital television system.

Later in the morning, Mike McDowell outlined Deep Ocean Expedition's plans for 2003. Due to popular demand there will be two expeditions to Titanic next June. However, the really exciting news was that Keldysh will be going into the Pacific next year. Operating from Mexican ports, Mir dives are planned for three hydrothermal vent sites in the Eastern Pacific. From the notes being made, it appears that many of our shipmates are interested in joining one of these trips. Mike urged everyone to maintain contact via the DOE website at www.deepoceanexpeditions.com. In this way the very latest schedules and expedition information will be easily accessible. Also in self-defense you can download and printout this information to help explain to your family and friends just why you do such unusual things...

After lunch came the most difficult event of the expedition. It was time to settle accounts and pay out the gratuities. The latter was not difficult considering the wonderful service and support we had gotten from our Russian friends. Otherwise, there was probably the feeling, "Did I drink all that much???".

Late afternoon we had our last video, another Mike De Gruy production, "Tempest from the Deep". An excellent production it helped most of us forget about the earlier "accounts settlement".

At 6 PM we all assembled in the lounge/lecture hall area for farewell drinks and presentation of souvenirs of the expedition. Each diver got a certificate; a photo of him/her in front of the Mir along with their co-diver and pilot; a photo album of expedition pictures and a 'class picture' of all the participants.

Tolya Sagalevitch did the presenting with suitable good humor and appreciation for our being on Keldysh these past days. He reiterated his invitation to consider the ship "...as your second home". The ceremonies ended with Mike McDowell adding to Tolya's thanks and inviting us all to come on future DOE expeditions. Then it was a rush to the door for the famous Keldysh "Barbeque Dinner" out on deck 7.

It was quite a party! Steaks, chicken, lamb and pork cooked away on the barbeque while a large buffet table offered salads, vegetables, breads and desserts. Centrally located on another table was the bar offering beer, wine and soft drinks. A CD player played if not good, loud music to loosen up the 'dancers within us'. What was especially nice was that this was an all-hands party with our Russian shipmates joining in the festivities. Who knows when the party ended? Most of us had retired to our cabins by mid-night. After all, it would be a long day tomorrow.

Day 15 (25th July)
Home are the sailors from the sea! Pilot on board, Keldysh eased alongside the quay wall at 9 AM. In less than an hour, packed and ready we said hasty good-byes to our Russian shipmates and the staff remaining behind. Boarding our mini-tour bus dockside, we headed off for the Hotel Atlantico to check in a drop off our baggage before today's tour. Our guide was the informative and efficient Anna who had greeted us on our first arrival at São Miguel nearly two weeks ago.

The six hour tour to several calderas was a fascinating. Morning clouds hovering over São Miguel with promises of rain gave way to sunny skies in early afternoon: weather just about perfect for touring. We were also treated to an unusual and huge lunch, totally cooked in the ground by volcanic heat.

We were delivered back at the hotel in the late afternoon. Time to move into our rooms and do some unpacking. Those of us who had waterfront rooms, or used the dining room, had a splendid view of our former 'home', Keldysh' across the harbor.

This evening it was dinner on our own. Several of us got together and went to a nearby restaurant frequented by locals. Excellent seafood and wine! A few of us just stayed 'at home' at the hotel for some 'private time' alone. In any case it seemed a bit strange having to 'forage' for a place to eat after two weeks of dining in one 'restaurant' shipboard. The day ended as each of us in our own way adjusted to life ashore as we went to sleep in the Hotel Atlantico.

Day 16 (26th July)
Expedition's end... The usual morning clouds as we got up for our final day of the "Undersea Volcanoes of the Azores" adventure.

After a good breakfast in the dining room it was time to do final packing before leaving at 10 AM on the half day tour through the countryside to the famous Sete Cidades ("seven cities") volcanic caldera now filled with two large lakes. Along the way we saw some other volcanic craters and the famous São Miguel pineapple plantation. And you probably learned more than you wanted to know about the bromeliad called "pineapple".

Not all of us were on this tour since a few had drifted away to make early plane connections for to arrange reservations for an earlier departure.

The tour ended at the airport where baggage was unloaded and the long, grim process of journeying towards home began. We now know how Cinderella must have felt as she rode home in the pumpkin pulled by a team of mice.

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